Driving to Cambodia--Normal Re-Entry Permit?

[pauleddy]

2 of us are going by car to Siem Riep next week. Stay 3-4 days.

Do we each need a regular RE permit (single or multi), just as if we were flying to somewhere and coming back? i.e. at Immigration?

Or can the normal REP be paid at the border exit and stamped there? Or, is it only the car that needs a permit from the traffic dept?

Or both?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Further query---Re Entry seems to be available at swampy again, even if it is a kitchen table set-up. Is it true that it shuts at 2am or something? Worse---I fly a lot with A Asia so I need it from Don Muaung about once or twice a year. I have always been too scared that the ReEntry desk there shuts at odd times. There are different tales about this. Anyone know the real story--ie should there be an office at DM with fixed times or 24 hours?

Thx

EddyP

[Mario2008]

There is only one kind of re-entry permit, and you cannot get it at the border. You have to visit your immigration office first. (Only airports have re-entry desks, and for their service you need to produce your boarding ticket)

Also inquire about the car papers you need to produce to take the car across the border.

[OJAS]

And please take particular care when driving in the border area since at some stage you will need to switch from the left- to the right-hand side of the road. Unless there is some organised system for managing this (as distinct from a chaotic free-for-all), you may be at risk of a hopefully not too serious accident.

Edited July 28, 2013 by OJAS

[stoli]

There is only one kind of re-entry permit, and you cannot get it at the border. You have to visit your immigration office first. (Only airports have re-entry desks, and for their service you need to produce your boarding ticket)

Also inquire about the car papers you need to produce to take the car across the border.

I recently went in and out of Cambodia on my motorbike for a 10 day trip. I gave immigration my Greenbook, they filled out a couple of forms and signed them, no charge, and I was on my way. Shouldn't be much different with a car.

[phuketrichard]

I just drove in and out of Cambodia in my car

You CANNOT take in in at Poi Pet or Palin

You can take it in at Koh Kong ( u will be required to pay 100 baht/day and they will tell you its only allowed to drive in Koh Kong Provience

and at Osmach (south of Surin). Surin to Siem Rep is about 5 hours

Documentation need to depart Thailand are the cars blue book an u will be required to fill out 2 forms ( one at customs, one at immigration) and u will need show both when u return.

Cambodia asks for nothing at Osmach, At Koh Kong they keep the papers Thai cutoms give you. You Thai insurnace is NOT vaild an if ur stopped u will pay a fine an if ur in an accident its off to Jail

IN 3 weeks of driving around ( osmach to Siem Rep-Phnom Peng to Kep back to PP - svay Rieng, Battambang, Exit at Pailin) did not see one other thai registered car!! This was not my first trip in

[Mario2008]

Take care of your car insurence.

[cardholder]

I just drove in and out of Cambodia in my car

You CANNOT take in in at Poi Pet or Palin

You can take it in at Koh Kong ( u will be required to pay 100 baht/day and they will tell you its only allowed to drive in Koh Kong Provience

and at Osmach (south of Surin). Surin to Siem Rep is about 5 hours

Documentation need to depart Thailand are the cars blue book an u will be required to fill out 2 forms ( one at customs, one at immigration) and u will need show both when u return.

Cambodia asks for nothing at Osmach, At Koh Kong they keep the papers Thai cutoms give you. You Thai insurnace is NOT vaild an if ur stopped u will pay a fine an if ur in an accident its off to Jail

IN 3 weeks of driving around ( osmach to Siem Rep-Phnom Peng to Kep back to PP - svay Rieng, Battambang, Exit at Pailin) did not see one other thai registered car!! This was not my first trip in

Richard, not wishing to be pedantic (I find your Cambodian posts most interesting) but the traveling time from Surin to Siem Reap is nearer to 3 hours. It is only 70km (on decent roads) from Surin to Chong Chom and then 2 hours by car to Siem Reap (10 mins or so longer in a minibus).

[OJAS]

I just drove in and out of Cambodia in my car

You CANNOT take in in at Poi Pet or Palin

You can take it in at Koh Kong ( u will be required to pay 100 baht/day and they will tell you its only allowed to drive in Koh Kong Provience

and at Osmach (south of Surin). Surin to Siem Rep is about 5 hours

Documentation need to depart Thailand are the cars blue book an u will be required to fill out 2 forms ( one at customs, one at immigration) and u will need show both when u return.

Cambodia asks for nothing at Osmach, At Koh Kong they keep the papers Thai cutoms give you. You Thai insurnace is NOT vaild an if ur stopped u will pay a fine an if ur in an accident its off to Jail

IN 3 weeks of driving around ( osmach to Siem Rep-Phnom Peng to Kep back to PP - svay Rieng, Battambang, Exit at Pailin) did not see one other thai registered car!! This was not my first trip in

So precisely how is the switch from the left- to the right-hand side of the road handled? IMHO this is a fundamental safety issue which should be of particular concern to the OP given that he doesn't appear to have driven into Cambodia from Thailand before.

In response to a similar query I raised in another thread a few months ago, a poster merely stated that the change took place at the border! As if this vague piece of information really meant that the switch took place in a completely risk-free manner, which I, for one, find hard to believe!

[phuketrichard]

ok, my time included the border duties, filing out papers for the car, buying a visa ,stamps,( they hassled my camboidan gf on the Camboidan side casue she had lost her arrival card), stops for lunch, gas an taking photos.

If u drove straight yes, 3- 3 1/2 hours ( and didn't need stop at the border)

I have zero problem switching sides ( Laos is same as Cambodia ) EXCEPT if i get going in the morning and sometimes start on the wrong side if there are no cars on the road. AS soon as i see another car i am ok :-)

When u enter Cambodia u drive on the other side, simple. Some borders entering Thailand they have signs up but have never seen one on the Cambodian side

[samran]

There is no elaborate changeover at the Thai Cambodian border. The road stays the same, just when you cross over you muddle over to drive on the other side of the road. Unlike when you cross to Laos where there is an intersection with traffic lights where you cross over.

[khwaibah]

There is no elaborate changeover at the Thai Cambodian border. The road stays the same, just when you cross over you muddle over to drive on the other side of the road. Unlike when you cross to Laos where there is an intersection with traffic lights where you cross over.

There is no muddling at the Chong Chome Boarder for Thai or Cambodia. The way the entrance and exits are designed your forced to be on the correct side.

[phuketrichard]

There is no elaborate changeover at the Thai Cambodian border. The road stays the same, just when you cross over you muddle over to drive on the other side of the road. Unlike when you cross to Laos where there is an intersection with traffic lights where you cross over.

thats only at Nong Khai

when u cross at Chaing Khong there is noreferance to which side u drive on after u get off the ferry

[djbarry]

It's the same in Lao. They have a sign up to remind you, which side of the road you should be on

I've crossed at Poipiet a few times. It's like the 8 wonder of the world. From travelling on the right hand side in Thailand, you are now on the left hand side in Poipet although there is no direct changeover. Houdini would be proud!!!

[jrtmedic]

If you are diving on the Right hand side of the road in Thailand you do not have long to live -------sorry !

[cardholder]

 

If you are diving on the Right hand side of the road in Thailand you do not have long to live -------sorry !

 

Actually, he would not be alone !!

[Mario2008]

Seems to me that driving on the road would be a lot easier than diving on the road, whatever side you do that on.

[jrtmedic]

Mario2008

Well spotted !-------guilty as charged of committing a typo !

[Tomtomtom69]

I just drove in and out of Cambodia in my car

You CANNOT take in in at Poi Pet or Palin

You can take it in at Koh Kong ( u will be required to pay 100 baht/day and they will tell you its only allowed to drive in Koh Kong Provience

and at Osmach (south of Surin). Surin to Siem Rep is about 5 hours

Documentation need to depart Thailand are the cars blue book an u will be required to fill out 2 forms ( one at customs, one at immigration) and u will need show both when u return.

Cambodia asks for nothing at Osmach, At Koh Kong they keep the papers Thai cutoms give you. You Thai insurnace is NOT vaild an if ur stopped u will pay a fine an if ur in an accident its off to Jail

IN 3 weeks of driving around ( osmach to Siem Rep-Phnom Peng to Kep back to PP - svay Rieng, Battambang, Exit at Pailin) did not see one other thai registered car!! This was not my first trip in

So precisely how is the switch from the left- to the right-hand side of the road handled? IMHO this is a fundamental safety issue which should be of particular concern to the OP given that he doesn't appear to have driven into Cambodia from Thailand before.

In response to a similar query I raised in another thread a few months ago, a poster merely stated that the change took place at the border! As if this vague piece of information really meant that the switch took place in a completely risk-free manner, which I, for one, find hard to believe!

Don't make such a big deal out of this. It is very easy to do - unlike the Thai-Lao crossings, which have lots of traffic and signposted traffic lane change directions, the Thai-Cambodian borders have very little traffic as Cambodian and Thai cars very rarely venture into each other's territory. Hence the switch is made at the border and it should be quite clear as to where the switch will occur - just follow what other vehicles are doing. I am pretty sure that Koh Kong and O'Smach (besides not having been there before) are very quiet and thus you won't have any problems - switching sides of the road at low speed is the least of the OP's worries, there are far greater dangers everyday on ordinary Thai or Cambodian roads than at the border crossings.

So entering at Poipet and Pailin are not options, but exiting there is? Why is that? Also, why is it that I have seen Cambodian vehicles entering Thailand at Aranyaprathet and Thai trucks heading into Poipet and perhaps one Thai registered car too, which was allowed to cross over but never seen any substantial numbers of vehicles crossing there? However, once inside Poipet I have only ever seen Thai trucks and 10km beyond the border didn't see any other foreign registered vehicles until I reached Phnom Penh where I saw one Lao car, one Thai car and a few Vietnamese cars/buses. I also saw one Chinese car registered in Kunming, Yunnan province once traveling towards Poipet but no idea if it was allowed to enter Thailand there.

Edited July 30, 2013 by Tomtomtom69

[Tomtomtom69]

There is no elaborate changeover at the Thai Cambodian border. The road stays the same, just when you cross over you muddle over to drive on the other side of the road. Unlike when you cross to Laos where there is an intersection with traffic lights where you cross over.

Depends on the border crossing, but usually it's clearly marked. At the 1st Friendship Bridge (Nong Khai to Vientiane) you drive on the left until you are on the Lao side and then the switchover is made using signs and traffic lights - this is a very busy crossing and thus the traffic lights are mandatory. At the 2nd Friendship Bridge (Mukdahan-Savannakhet) it's similar although the switchover is made on the Thai side so you drive on the right starting on Thai soil. Haven't been to the third Friendship Bridge, but I think the switchover to the right hand side is made on the Thai side also. At the new 4th Friendship Bridge (Chiang Khong-Huay Xai), the switchover will also be made in a controlled manner but that bridge is not yet open to traffic. In the meantime you have to already know which side to drive on once you arrive since there are no signs (you disembark from the ferry and are supposed to know which side to drive on, which is easy as there are usually other vehicles waiting to cross). At land crossings like Chong Mek-Vang Tao in the south of Laos (Champasak province) you immediately switch to the right once you cross the border gate - the arrivals is designed in such a way that you have to go to the right and on exiting you are on the other side. Tha Li-Nam Heuang (Saiyabuli province) is similar except that a small roundabout on the Lao side helps you to switch from the right to the left if entering Thailand or the reverse if entering Laos.

Cambodian crossings have very little vehicular traffic, probably because of historical tensions and/or a lack of regulations regarding cross-border traffic. However, a recent agreement brokered between the two governments apparently allows about 40 Thai buses and trucks a month to cross into Cambodia at Poipet and travel onto Siem Reap and Poipet. This means little for private vehicles though but there is a direct Bangkok-Siem Reap bus service that runs daily. Strangely, the Bangkok-Phnom Penh bus has temporarily been suspended - no idea why though (hard to imagine there would be a lack of passengers with all the westerners that like to travel between Bangkok and Cambodia overland, some even heading onto Vietnam, not to mention Cambodian migrant workers and low budget Vietnamese travelers to Thailand who could use that bus as a transit service between Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh).

[phuketrichard]

At the new 4th Friendship Bridge (Chiang Khong-Huay Xai), the switchover will also be made in a controlled manner but that bridge is not yet open to traffic.

might be years till its done. I just took the ferry across at this entrance to laos. Note there is NO sign which side u are to drive on.

as to very little traffic. When was the last time u were at the Poi Pet crossing to Camboida, its a mess, not only with cars an trucks but Cambodians pushing carts back and forth.

They started a direct bus service between Morchit station in Bangkok and Siem Rep and Phnom Penh which has already been stopped from lack of use. I have not heard of any agreement but in Siem Rep i often see thai trucks and pickups and have spoken with a few thais up there doing business

Thailand is very easy with admiting cars and motorcyles, hence reason u can ( up north ) see chinese cars and motorcyles in Thailand yet u are NOT allowed to take ur Thai car ( YET) into China. All you need is your ownership papers as i met more than a few bikers on my last trip down from China. IN fact in Phnom Penh met a Swedish guy on a chinese bike ( with side car for his gf) with Chinese plates an he said he spent 2 weeks in northern thailand before crossing over to Cambodia.

On my last trip in Cambodia i went from north to south and exited at Pailin. never saw another thai regiestered car. Year before exited at Poi Pet

If you want to LEGALLY take ur car in u need permission from the transport office in Phnom Penh but no one bothers with that. ( I have chatted wiht a few poeple recently that have taken their thai cars into Cambodia) Pailin and Poipet stop you at the customs and just say NO. The reason they sometimes give people is they dont want rhd cars in Cambodia but there are many with Cambodia Plates.

In Cambodia you see many Vietnamese buses as they run tours. It is also legal to take Vietnamese bikes into Cambodia, an Thailand if one wishes

Koh Kong makes 100 baht a day off of you an tells you ur only allowed to drvie in Koh Kong Provinece. Osmach just does not care, ( last year i went in and the customs guy asked me where i was going and i told him SR and he took a picture of my car and said have fun), This year they just waved me thru.

At Pailin they seem to let in thai cars that they know ( as i watched them) and asked about it, they told me they worked at the casino. Trucks receive a special permit to carry goods in at Poi Pet and Pailin.

Thats all i know.

Reason, I think,you see you see few Vietnamese, Cambodian cars in Thailand is travel by road is a very middle class thing to do an there is not a huge middle class that owns cars and those two cultures are not big on travelling by car.

ADDED bonus, was just at the Prachup Khiri Khan an went to the Burmese border. Was told that as soon as they finish the road ( she had NO idea when) Thai cars would be allowed to drive into Burma (as long as you had a visa and permission in advance) an it would be a legal entry point for foot travel.